A mystery, and a near miss . . .

[BobFV1]

. . . I will never really know if some act of mine prevented two-wheeled tragedy. It's a mystery, but one I can live with.

I wonder about all the times I sat a stoplights with the bike in first gear, looking at the rear view mirror. How many times I could have passed three cars but waited patiently. How many times have there been when I saw a car on the side of the road ahead, and I flashed my hi-beam causing them to notice me and preventing a U-turn into my path.

Well, I never want to know all the answers to these and similar questions.

Yesterday afternoon I was about two miles from home, at the end of 150 miles on the road. I was on one of the twisty, wooded back roads in my neighborhood, coming down a hill into a left hand 90-degree turn which preceded a steep climb back up the other side of the little valley leading down to the Potomac. Not many vehicles out here, and I could see the downhill approaching the turn from the other direction. With all the leaves down, there are good sightlines.

So As I'm riding down I see a guy in street clothes and a bright MX type helmet heading down and towards me, traveling in the opposite direction. He is on a stock, street-legal thumper, could have been a KLR.

Early on, I can put together many observations. He is carrying too much speed down the hill into the turn. If he blows the turn, he will be right in my path at the bottom of the hill, right as I will be leaning, pressing the inside handlebar, and rolling on the throttle. It's a once-in-a-lifetime warm day in January in the DC area, so all the novice riders are out, and this guy fits the bill. I slow in anticipation, and as we get closer to the bottom, he is not scrubbing off speed. I also see a little waggle of the front wheel - looks like indecision on lane position/entry point. I head to the extreme right side of my lane, towards the ridable terrain I assess off the road on the right, and squeeze the front brake enough to get the weight shift initiated early.

Sure enough - dipshit goes wide, right into my path. Since I had aniticipated the situation, I had a lot of options. I decide to roll on, shoot for a late apex, and just take myself past the problem. Of course it worked, but had I not been paying attention, this would have been a face plant.

An afterthought - some accidents, like my deer strike, come with no warning. But by thinking about risk factors and applying experience, it's possible to stay low on the "ladder of risk", and to keep the dirty side down.

[Deans BMW]

Bob, so very well put.


An afterthought - some accidents, like my deer strike, come with no warning. But by thinking about risk factors and applying experience, it's possible to stay low on the "ladder of risk", and to keep the dirty side down.
__________________


We see a lot of new Harley riders with their DOT approved Do Rags up here in the mountains riding extremely hi on the risk ladder and NOT keeping the dirty side down.

[JCsman]

Bob

Thanks for that post. I am always trying to learn how to "extend my radar" when I ride. Reading the clues like you noted will help that effort. I'd love to hear similar tales from the multitude of long-term riders in the Cafe.

The life you save may be mine!

[DarthRider]

Good one Bob...keep that antenna twitching!

[BobFV1]

One other factor I always think about when circumstances indicate that I may be dealing with a novice rider is target fixation. in the situation yesterday, I think part of what "drew" the other rider into my path was the fact that he was nervously staring over at me. I was glancing at him and looking at where my options were.

One more thing to think about.

[GPM]

Very, very nice move Bob-o. It pays to be on your A-game.

[jamming]

Way to pay attetion Bob, you live longer. Glad to see your riding.

[vintagemxr]

Nice call, Bob. There's no substitute for years of accumulated experience.

:eusa_clap:

[Arby]

Bob

Sounds like you were practicing what you preach. Good job. You not only saved your own hide, but gave the other guy a break as well.

RB

[R4R&R]

I'm glad you were looking out in front of you to see into the 'future' enough to predict that one. Hopefully the other rider gained a little experience from that situation by realizing that he was endangering TWO riders and to slow it down the next time.

Maybe you should've leaned out an MSF application for him to fill out as you passed him! :065:

[Bones]

Bob,
Indeed, it appears you were riding with "three dimensional perception" which is the mode for an experienced and thoughtful rider. I will bet you didn't even give it much thought (riding in that mode) until the near miss and your debriefing.

I think there is no question that type of riding lowers your position on the risk ladder, and that is a good thing. First gear with clutch pulled, choosing lane positions when highway and backroad riding, route selection (eg, there are certain intersections around here I try to avoid whenever I can), scanning the rearview mirrors, head checks, etc. all make a difference, I think.

Dean, it must be that all the low skilled riders on Harleys live near you. Out here we see a lot more crashes from young riders on sports bikes than riders on Harleys.

Jeff

[Deans BMW]

Jeff, intresting, up here the sport riders that we see are the more experienced ones, I wonder if it is the 200 miles to the twisties from the Phoenix area that culls the newby sport riders. You see lots of new Do Rag equipped HD riders however, you can always tell by the way they paddle around the parking lots and are blistered from the lack of sun and wind protection.

[BobFV1]

Jeff, intresting, up here the sport riders that we see are the more experienced ones, I wonder if it is the 200 miles to the twisties from the Phoenix area that culls the newby sport riders. You see lots of new Do Rag equipped HD riders however, you can always tell by the way they paddle around the parking lots and are blistered from the lack of sun and wind protection.

Having taught motorcycle safety and ridden in the PHX area for some time, I'm with Dean-O on this one. Many of the squiddly-diddlies out there take advantage of the track days which run practically every weekend, and they actually can ride. Not all, but many.

On the H-D side, AZ must have one of the biggest "idiot to bike" ratios of any area in the US. Many, many of my students out there wanted to "live the dream" - many of them came to the BRC already in their H-D gear, even with H-D tatoos, and I did what I could to teach them to ride. All anecdotal, of course, but there sure seemed to be a lot of wobbly hogs in that part of the country.

[DarthRider]

I'm glad you were looking out in front of you to see into the 'future' enough to predict that one. :065:

In Reg Pridmore's CLASS classes, he calls that "learning to see around corners".
I agree with Doug that it comes with years & miles of accumulated experience, but some training along those lines will certainly shorten the learning curve!
Funny thing is, we all experience many situations like that all the time, where our "Spidey sense" saves our bacon, and usually they are forgotten about as quickly as they happen.
But then that "special one" comes along - like this one - that really sticks with us, we replay the tape again & again, looking for the learning. Then share it with our buds.
What good are near-crash experiences if we don't share the learning...thanks!

[R4R&R]

Many, many of my students out there wanted to "live the dream" - many of them came to the BRC already in their H-D gear, even with H-D tatoos, and I did what I could to teach them to ride. All anecdotal, of course, but there sure seemed to be a lot of wobbly hogs in that part of the country.

That must've been frustrating trying to teach them. I'll bet Helen Keller would've been an easier student.

[Bones]

Bob and Dean,
Interesting demographic. I am sure geography may have something to do with it. Out here, we have a decent amount of curvy roadage. But doing track days takes a special dedication, because it is many hours to get to the closest ones and they aren't going on all the time. I know, because I was way into that for a few years........didn't realize how much until I stopped! So we see a LOT of sport bike riders that like to go fast but don't know as much about how to slow down and turn. Since Harleys don't turn in the first place, it may be less of an issue.

Out our way, it seems there is a pretty even demographic with newbies across brand lines. But it seems that the squids on sport bikes are the youngest, probably because the price of admission is so much less. The newbies we see on HD's seem to be a bit older and maybe because they have spent so much money and since the local dealers really, really push BRC's, they seem to not do nearly as many stupid things as we see with the younger sport bike riders.

I think age has something to do with it, regardless of brand, too. Remember that sense of immortality we all had in our twenties and younger thirties? Can you guys remember back that far?

All the kidding aside, I can only comment from my own experience: sure I see and know alot of Harley guys who dress up and put around. BUT, I know more serious riders who own Harleys than I do other brands. Why? Probably because most of the guys I know who are really serious riders have owned or do own multiple bikes and almost all of them have had or now have a Harley in the stable. That includes the BMW riders I know and ride with...and these guys tend to be the mile munchers.

And let's not make fun of those guys for trailering their bikes to ride destinations, either. As I recall, there were more than a few guys who did the Big Bend ride who trailered their bikes to the ride, AND THEY LIVE IN TEXAS! Granted, TX is large. My ass still hurts from that ride!

Jeff

[Deans BMW]

Jeff, Hmmmm, I did trailer that Vespa after all.

We have a lot of first time riders buying HD out here. Riding in the flatlands of the greater Pheonix area does not prepare them for the decreasing radius blind turns and hi speed sweepers up here.

On the other hand, the sport bike riders that come up here, 200 miles away, seem to be in full AGATT.

[mnnden]

Bob, Great Read!!! Den

[Ed K]

He saw you and was stunned... (just kidding)

Thanks for the replay Bob...

Helpful to share these experiences using the "extra sense" ... and find myself using the same skills when driving a cage.